somewhat. the recent model indicates it will last longer. a final burst of low pressure tomorrow morning. that will be problematic because of the heavy rain. the heavy, heavy rain is to the south of baltimore right now in annapolis and rock hall. the entire state is encompassed with showers this morning. we had tornado warnings around st. mary's and calvert counties. right now the area is under a tornado watch until 1:00 p.m. the remnants of nicole are around south florida. we have a tropical conveyor belt of moisture and it is all moving northward, right into the mid atlantic and the state of maryland. we have more than 4 inches of

rain likely. we could see more than 6 inches by the end of tomorrow. flash flooding occurring around the district and south of baltimore. the tornado watch is in effect until 1:00 p.m. there is also a high-wind advisory. let's check of the morning commute. >> it has been a mess. was a tanker truck that overturned on eastbound 70. we still have all lanes closed in the eastbound direction until the patapsco river bridge. it has been up writing, but the closure remains in effect. you are forced off at southbound 29. watch for heavy delays back heavy 40. you can see the delays from wilkins because of an accident on the outer loop.

cold spring at loch raven, another accident. that one is still taking up the right lane. you can see the delays forming. northbound 83, another accident. it is a very busy rush. flooding will be an issue. leave extra time. 70 at 29, traffic on the westbound getting by fine. eastbound, nothing at all. wilkins avenue is the accident scene. you can see two lanes getting by. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> the big story is the rain and lots of it. several inches are expected to fall in our area. state >> agencies and utilities are ready to spring into action. jennifer franciotti is live and fells point with more on the

story. >> the nice thing is we have seen city crews coming by. they come by with their flashing yellow lights. they are monitoring flash flooding. so far so good in fells point. we have had intermittent heavy rain. this is the lightest it has been all morning long. emergency workers have spent much of wednesday preparing for this storm. attract this on the radar. there were -- they tracked this on the radar. there are 52,000 storm drains in the city. they were not able to get to everyone. they were asking residents to make sure they got out there to help if the trains were clock clogged.

b.g.e. has extra crews on standby in anticipation of power outages. >> the concern is the high wind. it can bring down trees and power lines. with a heavy canopy we have today, we have some ground that is soaked from the recent storms. it is a good recipe for power outages. >> it looks like the wind is starting to pick up. there is concern about that. it is not called out here. at least is a warm rain. reporting live, jennifer franciotti, wbal-tv 11 news. >> thank you. >> emergency officials are mobilizing and ready to tackle whatever problems may arise. >> the director of the city operations center joins us live on the phone. good morning. mr. any flooding in the city? but we have received reports of

localized flooding come around the patapsco avenue. . the road is already close. historically we have instances of flooding there. with the amount of rain we had overnight, that area is already under water. >> when we anticipate heavy rain, there are pockets where you know it is going to flood. to try to get a jump on things? >> yes. we try to utilize transportation and assets so that it frees up fire employees so they cannot respond to major emergencies. the usual suspects are the 83 corridor, jones falls, middle mill up around the mount washington area. and the fells point area. we're not too

concerned with the storm surges. given the amount of rain that is falling, and the cells did seem to be all over the place, it is anybody's guess on work the flooding will be the worst. it could be an area where there is not a stream or a tributary at all, where a storm drain becomes clogged. so we're keeping an eye on everything today. >> what can people do to make the situation better? >> yesterday we recommended if you see a storm drain that is covered with ctrash to clear it. call us and we will try to get out there. use caution. don't drive through high waters. we have leaves on the trees. we expect we'll have some fallen

trees, some downed power lines. make sure you are ready to sustain yourself if your power is out for a good portion of the day. be careful. there is a lot of moving parts with the storm. hopefully we will come out of it without too much damage. the next 12 hours will be crucial to watch. >> i know you and your crews will be busy today. best of luck to you. they have been busy since last night. it will be a long day and half. thank you. >> you can fault the storm. just log onto our website, wbaltv.com. will find radar and you can post your own photos. investigators are trying to find a reason behind yesterday's deadly bus accident in

montgomery county. officials say the charter bus lost control and went over the edge of the sky around. the disturbing scene was captured after the bus plunged 45 feet on to the interstate. the driver of the bus, but joseph clabaugh, pronounced dead. 12 others are being treated at hospitals. >> the survivors that we will be looking at will include interviewing passengers. we will be looking at the crest worthiness of the vehicle and looking to see if the bus was equipped with passenger seat belts the >> investigators hope to have a better idea of what caused the crash later today. >> police have arrested two men in connection with the death of a hispanic man. manuel gutierrez and jamie

calderon were arrested in connection with the death of jose ramirez. it is not clear what triggered the deadly attack. >> a police unit investigating drugs has been disbanded. unit was made up of six patrol officers that looked for drugs in northwest baltimore. the suspended personnel are accused of using a stolen private citizen's license plate on an unmarked car while doing official business. >> there are a lot of questions as to what a citizen's license plate was used and how they got ahold of the license plate. was the vehicle towed? what were they using the plate for? >> drug enforcement will continue in the northwest district with a different unit.

>> weeks to go until the midterm election. lawmakers wrapped their session early. kate amara has more on the story. >> with control of congress on the line, the president meets with top democrats for one last strategy session. lawmakers are preparing to head home. >> the bill is passed. >> house lawmakers also passed a to 9/11 first responders and survivors. >> help is on the way. we passed your bill in the house of representatives. >> but lawmakers are leaving d.c. without addressing the bush-era tax cuts. dozens of house democrats, many in tight races, broke ranks and sided with the republicans, voting against adjourning the session without voting on the tax-cut extension. >> it's irresponsible for them

to leave town without giving us a fair up-or-down vote. they're turning their backs on the american people. >> political analysts say the issue underscores the division among democrats just five weeks before a high-stakes election. >> the states across the country that are generally considered swing states are all leaning to republicans right now. and the only states that are leaning to democrats tend to be very traditional democratic states. >> today's meeting will give the president and democratic leaders a chance to discuss their legislative agenda and plans for a lame-duck session after the november election. in washington, i am kate amara. >> martin o'malley is surging ahead of bob ehrlich. 52% of likely voters support o'malley. 41% favor the former governor. o'malley is expected to pick up the endorsement of michael bloomberg.

ms. romney has thrown his support behind the ehrlich campaign. >> parents in california are getting some help. carrot farmers are marking carrots like junk food. arrotare also testing chara vending machines. that brings us to your answers to our water cooler question of the day. do you think a marketing campaign can make healthy food more appealing for children? e-mail your response to watercooler@wbaltv.com. >> 68 degrees and reigning on tv hill. coming up, the morning's financial news in the bloomberg business report. >> it is full speed ahead if amtrak has its way for passenger travel up and down the new england corridor. >> authorities have the chilling

look at what might have happened in times square if the accused bombers succeeded in his plan. >> heavy tropical downpours are continuing and we are expecting in excess of 5 inches of rain. >> all of that reigned making for a messy morning commute.

>> a very good morning. 70 degrees. a search of tropical moisture has combined with an area of low pressure and all of that moisture is streaming with tropical downpours around the area. the heaviest rain right now is around rock hall and annapolis.

these are heavy downpours on the eastern side of baltimore. there is some moderate rain around cockeysville. we had tornado warnings earlier this morning. the remnants of nicole are around fort lauderdale. there is the strong areas of the pressure off the coast of south carolina. it will move up into the virginia and new york state. this is a flooding-type event. expecting inwe're excess of 4 inches. more likely, in excess of 6 inches. we have a flash flood warnings issued around the district of columbia and down to the south in annapolis. there is a coastal advisory with one to 2 feet above the normal high tide.

into the mix, there is wind problems. we have tornado watch that extends for the entire area until 1:00 p.m. this afternoon and gusts up to 45 miles per hour. this will continue to move in our direction. there is no relief in sight until later tomorrow. heavy rains throughout today and may be some thunderstorms in the mix. we're in the 70's. 57 set 61. heavy rain even at 8:00 p.m. tonight. -- 57 to 61. we will clear out after 10:00 a.m. tomorrow. temperatures will be in the 60's on saturday. this is a dangerous tropical

system we are tracking all day today. >> that translates into a m ess for the morning commute. eastbound 70 is shut down between 29 and the patapsco river bridge because of an overturned milk tanker. you are being forced off on southbound 29. traffic is at a crawl. outer loop approaching 795, there is an accident. there is another in a randallstown. another approaching the j.f.x. another at cold spring and loch raven. another crash is in the process of being cleared. eastern boulevard at martin boulevard. patapsco boulevard is shut down near 895. the biggest one is 70 in the

eastbound direction, shut down at 29. nothing is getting by east down. look-ins' avenue -- wilkins avenue, all lanes are open. take the time. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> do not put the space shuttle in mothballs just yet. congress approved a new budget that funds the project for one more year. that adds another flight. it relies on the space industry to move fast enough to the space station. if the bonmb in times square wet off, this is what it would look like. faisal shahzad boasted the blast would kill at least 40 people. he faces life in prison when he

is sentenced next week. >> amtrak wants to make its northeast corridor route even faster. they are proposing a project to bring high speed rail lines with trains capable of traveling more than 220 miles per hour. the project has a 30-year timetable. foreclosed properties are causing a distressed at one of the top banks. jane king has that and more in the bloomberg business report. >> more americans are facing tough economic times. many are shacking up together. the number of people in non- grew. man mehouseholds

courts were asked to delay foreclosure proceedings in 23 states as the bank reviews and possibly resubmit statements that might not have been done properly. ben bernanke is scheduled to address a hearing as the fed considers buying more u.s. debt. stocks took a dip yesterday. aig which has been bailed out is back in focus. a source says the board has approved a plan for the treasury to wind down the majority of state. kmart has a that is comparable to brand names that cost on average 20%

less. the bloombergwith business report. >> 68 degrees on tv hill. another check on weather and traffic is straight ahead. >> the ravens will want to have all hands on deck if they are going to beat the pittsburgh steelers. >> here is a look at last night's winning maryland lottery numbers. good luck.

>> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> all right. let's get you up to date on a busy morning rush. it is a nasty out there. we have flooding in many areas. there is a risk of hydroplaning. be extra careful. eastbound 70, there was an overturned milk tanker. eastbound lanes are closed. watch for that closure. you are being forced off onto southbound 29. there is an accident in randallstown. another approaching 795. there is an accident still clearing towards the j.f.x. cold spring at loch raven, an accident in the city. everything looking good southbound on 83. watch for two feet of standing

water on eastern boulevard. patapsco avenue is shut down near 895. let's check in with sandra shaw. she has a lot more on the forecast. >> here is a tornado warning that has been issued for southeastern calvert county and eastern st. mary's county. this line of thunderstorms has not subsided at all. you can see all of that red. this is a line of storms and there is a possibility of a tornado. take cover now and do not go anywhere. i will highlight were that tornado warning is in effect. it is in effect until 7:00 a.m. this morning. there is a tornado watch for the entire viewing area until 1:00

p.m. this afternoon. we have a lot of chance to see severe thunderstorms. they could produce tornadoes. we have in excess of 4 inches of rain. i think we'll see in excess of 6 inches of rain when this gets wrapped up some time midmorning tomorrow. more details in a little bit. >> good morning. the ravens are back on the practice field later today. the weather will move them inside. trevor price was released from the team. ray rice showed up at practice but did not work out. he has a bruised knee and is questionable for sunday. he rushed for 144 yards against the steelers in 83-point loss.

time will tell if ray placed on sunday. this is one of those "throw the records out" games. no added motivation needed when you play the steelers. >> i would be lying if i said it was just another game. we definitely want to win. this is the game on the schedule that we circle and we look forward to. this one has more importance than all the other division games. >> game time is 1:00 p.m. on sunday. the orioles shut out taproot. they are supposed to play detroit tonight, but i doubt that will happen -- the orel's shut out tampa. >> -- the orioles shut out tampa. >> much more to come in our next half-hour of 11 news today. >> a tornado warning in effect

until 74 st. mary's and calvert county. stay tuned for the details. >> accidents keep on coming in. there is a problem on 95 near mountain road. >> the baltimore city fire department has their rescue teams on

>> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today in hd. >> good morning, everybody. welcome back. i am stan stovall. >> and i'm mindy basara. thank you for joining us this morning. sandra shaw has a quick look at the forecast. >> heavy tropical downpours all day today, but tonight, and tomorrow. a tornado warning for calvert and st. mary's counties. you can see the heavy red and that is where the tornado warning was issued. the entire area is under a tornado watch until 1:00 p.m. this afternoon. look at how much rain we're

expecting. we could get in excess of 6 inches of rain. we should be free of rain sometime mid morning tomorrow. flash flood warning down to cecil county and baltimore. a coastal flood advisory as well as a wind advisory. this is a massive tropical hybrid sort of a storm that will affect us for the rest of today, tonight, and tomorrow. >> for the big story, just look outside your window. >> we are keeping a close eye as the storm moves through. jennifer franciotti is live in fells point with more on the story. good morning. >> the rain is not keeping people inside. folks are out walking their dogs and even out jogging.

the high wind and heavy rain we're supposed to get could topple trees and caused massive power outages. taking advantage of the calm before the storm. emergency managers tracking the swath of green on the radar. the city deployed cruise to clear clogged storm drains. >> all of that water runs off to the local streams and into the harbor. >> the five teams cannot check all of the storm drains. officials were urging residents to pitch and. >> we are asking every citizen to look on the streets to see if there storm drains are clear. sweet any trash off. annapolis >> is well aware of their -- >> annapolis is well

aware of their flood-prone zone. b.g.e. has extra crews on standby. >> the concern we has is the high wind. that can bring down trees and power lines. we already have some ground that is soaked from the recent storms. it is a good recipe for power outages. >> the fire department has a swift response team. .hey have beefed that upp they got there and zodiac boats ready in case they have to do any rescues. there is the water situation on northern parkway near 83. so far they have not had to deploy their zodiac boats. >> thank you.

we're still awaiting word as to whether teachers will accept the new performance-based contractor it is a three-year contract with a 4.5% raise. this is a landmark proposal. >> with this new contract, baltimore will lead the state and nation in making the necessary changes to improve academic changes in our school system. teachers and administrators are not waiting for anyone to improve public education. >> the proposal would raise first years teachers pay by more than $5,000. it is the newest high-tech fighter plane. it can do things no other fighter plane can do. rob roblin got a chance to find out what is like to pilot one of these planes.

>> it is the most advanced fighter plane. i am in the cockpit of the simulator, doing some fancy flying. there were go. excellent. it will fly at speeds of over 1,000 miles per hour. it can also land and take off vertically. many of the features were built right here in maryland. >> 1400 different people whose jobs are attributed to this program and about $206 million of economic value to the state. this is the important to the state. you are at 1,000 feet. this would probably be about 300 feet. >> the simulator gives the person a chance to see what it's

like to control this high-tech aircraft. >> the ability to see what is out there and how our sensors are fused together. we tell it what we want to look at. >> the u.s. military plans to purchase over 3000 of the fighters. it is the world's only fifth generation multi-row fighter. >> it has advanced avionics to get to the target and to return safely. it is one of the key aspects of this airplane that makes it so good. >> rob roblin, wbal-tv 11 news. >> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. you up to date on a long list of accidents. you will need lots of extra time.

eastbound 70 is still closed because of an overturned milk tanker. you are forced off at southbound 29. at liberty, watch for a crash and another near 795. cold spring at loch raven, watch for a crash. are 2 feet of standing water. eastern boulevard at martin boulevard, flooding is a problem. same situation at patapsco. we tend to see flooding along the j.f.x. on the on and off ramps. for 50 is shut down because of flooding -- 450 is shut down because of flooding. nothing getting by eastbound. the closure is expected to remain until 8:00 a.m. mountain road, there is a truck

fire confirmed on southbound 95 at mountain road. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> we have some breaking weather information. we have heavy rain around baltimore city. a tornado warning has been issued for calvert and st. mary's counties. you need to seek shelter right now. you can see the entire area is encompassed in a turn in a watch until 1:00 p.m. this afternoon. we have heavy rain coming on through and infiltrating the area. we are the ground in syria for this massive tropical conveyor belts. fore're at ground zero

this massive tropical conveyor belt. an excess of 6 inches is not out of the question. >> 68 degrees on tv hill. there a french ship crossed an ocean and spanned decades. they never sat down with one another. another.

four years ago, bob ehrlich got fired as governor of maryland. for good reason. first, he protected tax loopholes for giant cable cable companies. then, he let utilities jack up our rates 72%.

and for the last four years, he worked as a hired gun for big corporations, even a bank that took billions from a taxpayer funded bailout. ehrlich sides with corporate executives again and again and again tell bob ehrlich big banks and billionares don't need help. middle class marylanders do. >> a new jersey farm is celebrating a baseball team in a corny way.

they cut the philadelphia law go into a field of corn. the liberty bell is in the center of. >> they have been friends for six decades. until wednesday, they had never met. back in 1937, one was a german girl who made a pen pal. the french ship flourished even through world war ii. they finally met in minnesota. the each brought their correspondents to sheer and reminisce. i think that is so cool. >> and they are still reading now. it will take awhile. 69 degrees on tv hill. coming up, we will check the morning headlines. >> traffic is at a stanford

coming out of harford county. >> possible tornadoes and severe thunderstorms. i have it all for you in your forecast. stay tuned. it is 68 degrees. 70 at the harbor. a tornado

>> the heavy rain that is coming down. jennifer franciotti joins us live from fells point with more. >> it is a lot letter of a rate that is falling in fells point then it was at 5:00 a.m. this morning. emergency officials have been preparing in baltimore city. they spent yesterday cleaning

out the storm drains. it is important to keep those storm drains clear because of the rate we have already had. you want to make sure the water has someplace to go. b.g.e. spent yesterday getting ready. they have extra crews on standby as the rain is expected to get worse and combined with strong winds. it is never a good situation. the fire department is on standby with their special operations group in case they have to do any swift water rescues. they have zodiac boats that are loaded up on trucks and are ready to go in case anybody needs help. jennifer franciotti, wbal-tv 11 news. >> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> went were coming in this morning, we commented that the j.f.x. was looking good. the exit ramps is where you will

find problems as the rain continues to fall. accidents all over the place. 70 has been a problem since 1:00 a.m. it is shut down between 29 and the patapsco river bridge. all traffic must exit southbound on 29. in's switch over to 95 harford county. you can see traffic at a standstill in the southbound direction approaching a mountain road. there is a truck fire. you can take pulaski highway. it is expected to be closed until 8:00 a.m. this morning. other accidents include the outer loop approach in the j.f.x. called sprint at loch raven. flooding is an issue on westbound pulaski highway.

two feet of water. eastern and patapsco avenue near 895. flooding has that shut down. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> we have breaking weather and news. a tornado warning has been issued for calvert and st. mary's counties and will expire at 7:00 a.m. this morning. we also have mass of heavy rain encompassing the entire state. see this area of purple? that is problematic and it is moving to the north. we're expecting major flooding or some kind of flooding with this system. we have the area of low pressure. it is combining with an area of low pressure along a stalled front. this is a conveyor belt coming

in from the tropics. t is like a mass of ive hose that is dousing the area. we will let you know what specifically we have a threat from. tornadoes are possible as we are under a watch until 1:00 p.m. this afternoon. calvert and st. mary's counties are under that warning for the next 10 or 15 minutes. we could see 4 inches. possibly more than 6 inches. it is easy to see what all these flash flood warnings have been issued. all of these dark green areas on the eastern shore. we have a coastal flood advisory in effect with high tide expected one to 2 feet above normal.

this area of low pressure draws in from the remnants of nicole and moves in with problematic moisture from the atlantic and the caribbean. heavier rain throughout today. the bad news is it is not going to end tonight. it will continue overnight with possible thunderstorms. 57 to 61 tonight. strong storms tonight persisting till about midnight and then one final burst tomorrow. the seven day forecast gives us a beautiful weekend but fall- like. upper 50's on sunday. >> no time for water cooler. go to the website. >> we will take another lookkol.

today these factories are full of dot com businesses. and now my job is helping maryland create new economy jobs. training new math and science teachers investing in our institutions of excellence pioneering new cyber security jobs and giving an old gm plant a jump start building electric motors. i'm barbara mikulski. i approve this message so you'll know i'm fighting for you.

bob ehrlich's real record on energy. lobbyists helped write utility regulations. we got stuck with a 72% rate hike. but martin o'malley got tough on bge, forcing them to pay back $2 billion to consumers. and what's bob ehrlich been doing the past four years? he got paid $2.5 million at a lobbying firm, a firm representing special interests and casinos right here in maryland. that's bob ehrlich-- a 72% increase for us and $2.5 million from special interests for himself. nice work, bob.

>> it is just a terrible morning. >> coming to work at 4:00 a.m. is not a bad thing because we had it easy comparison to the folks who are out there now. there are accidents all over the place. look what looks like coming out harford county. this stretches from bel air down to mountain road. there are two lanes closed because of a truck fire. consider pulaski highway or philadelphia instead. let's update you on eastbound 70. it is still close between 29 and

the patapsco river bridge. you can see everything is forced onto south 29. there is a crash at cold spring and loch raven. westbound pulaski, continued issues with flooding. same thing at martin boulevard. patapsco avenue has flooding. there is in new accident on southbound 95 approaching 895. another spot with heavy flooding. >> i know it is nasty out there. it could have been worse. >> it combined with the stalled- out front and the area of low pressure. it is a weird hybrid storm. this thing was not clear out of here until tomorrow morning. let's take a look at what we're seeing a. we have rain all over the area.

the strongest storm is in southern maryland. take a look at the conveyor belt of a tropical moisture. right now, the remnants of nicole are down off the shores of fort lauderdale. all of that moisture is streaming in. -- seven-daylook forecast shows a better weekend. a cooler weekend ahead. stay in if at all possible. > thanks for joining us for 1 news today. >> we will be back with a live update at 7:25. look at that. >> be careful out there,>> trag.

these are some of the adjectives to describe the state of education in our county. with the education nation, new data shows just how poorly students are fairing on the academic stage. american students rank 25th in math. nearly six out of 10 adults believe our school need a complete overhaul. we assume great strides. blue ribbon and other recognitions for other schools

and the successful awarding of federal morning in the race to the top. there is more work that needs to be done. we applaud the efforts to start a discussion about education. we ask parents and students to join the conversation right here in maryland. you can share your thoughts. log onto wbaltv.com and click on log onto wbaltv.com and click on education alert

i'm frank kratovil and i approve this message. the real andy harris. buried in his website - a promise to replace the tax code with a 23% sales tax and eliminate the mortgage interest deduction. a bush tax panel said families would pay $6,000 more a year. a reagan tax advisor calls it a very dumb idea. but that's not his only bad idea. harris was the only senator to vote against expanding the child care tax credit and against the state's cancer treatment program. andy harris' extreme ideas will cost us.